LHC orders to make full Toshakhana record from 1990 to 2001 public

A total of 2,916 gifts worth Rs210 million from the Toshakhana were given to 816 important personalities from 1990 to 2001.

Islamabad_As per the documents available with SAMAA TV Investigation Unit about the gifts received from the Toshakhana, all the dignitaries retained gifts after paying 10% of their total value.

Slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto received the most, 589, gifts from the state repository during her stint as the premier. The total value of these gifts was estimated at Rs2.1 million.Bhutto also retained 178 gifts whose worth was Rs250,000.

Former dictator General Ziaul Haq received 176 gifts worth Rs1.3 million from 1978 to 1987. Former prime minister Muhammad Khan Junejo received 289 gifts from 1985 to 1988.Former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan received 88 gifts and paid only Rs670,000 to retain them all.
PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif retained 120 gifts from the Toshakahana, paid Rs1.4 million and kept 75 of them.Former president Farooq Leghari received 110 gifts and paid Rs2.8 million to keep all of those. Former president Rafique Tarar retained 70 gifts against Rs1.2 million.

PPP senior leader and former interior minister Naseerullah Babar took 17 gifts from the state repository.

PPP leader and senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan received five gifts, while former minister Sahibzada Yaqub.

Former minister and National Assembly speaker Fakhar Imam received 15 gifts from the Toshakhana.PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain received 18 gifts, while former Sindh chief minister Ghous Ali Shah retained five gifts. As per the official documents, former federal ministers Gohar Ayub and Asif Ahmed Ali retained 54 gifts each.

The auditor general of Pakistan (AGP), meanwhile, launched a special audit of the Toshakhana.Sources said the AGP Special Audit Team is collecting records from the Cabinet Division.In the first phase, the record of 10 years has been sought from the cabinet division. The team will conduct a forensic audit of all the gifts received by key persons, and all the gifts received will be audited.

Earlier,

The Lahore High Court has ordered the government to make complete record of Toshakhana from 1990 to 2001 public,

LHC judge Justice Asim Hafeez on Wednesday disposed of the petition filed by citizen Munir Ahmad seeking details of the Toshakhana record.

During hearing, Justice Hafeez remarked nothing could be concealed, ordering government to make public the names of those friendly countries who gave these gifts.

Additional Attorney General Nasr Ahmad appeared before the court to represent the federal government.

The federal government objected to the court instruction regarding revealing sources of the gifts.

But the judge ordered the government lawyer to make every part of the record public.

The lawyer said that the government would file an appeal against this.

The judge remarked filing an appeal was government’s right.

Justice Hafeez observed that without making payment, no one could retain a Toshakhana gift for free.

On March 12, the government released the much-awaited records of Toshakhana gifts received by public office holders from foreign governments and dignitaries since 2002.

The move was made on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

However, on March 13, the LHC directed the law officer representing the federal government to “submit in chamber” the remaining record before 2002, including the names of those who gave those gifts.

Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.

According to Toshakhana rules, gifts/presents and other such materials received by persons to whom these rules apply shall be reported to the Cabinet Division.

The department has been in the news in recent months in light of proceedings against former prime minister Imran Khan for “not sharing details” of Toshakhana gifts.

The recipients of the gifts from foreign dignitaries include former presidents, prime ministers, federal ministers and government officials.